


A Chance to Take

by Aedriane



Category: Original Work
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Gen, Original Fiction, Post-Apocalypse, Written in 2008
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-08-14 03:57:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16485491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aedriane/pseuds/Aedriane
Summary: Long after a powerful cataclysm scars the world, Hunters and Huntresses are the norm. This is the following of a particularly well-known one. This was the product of my first NaNoWriMo attempt back in 2008.





	1. Chapter 1

> _Mark Log #128, 13 April 2515: I’ve slain powerful giants and otherworldly horrors more easily than I have tracked this single man. This one has to have had enough attempts on his life to have the knowledge to evade me. He is a ruthless killer, which is why the price on his head is so high. It also means that there is a high probability that we will come face to face at least once before I can return. I have a lead on his current location, but I doubt tomorrow will be the end of this hunt._

The ball-point pen was clicked and dropped as the writer stood. The tall, slender woman turned a full one-eighty and headed in the direction of the tent flap. Opening it, she peered out into the sandy wasteland she was oh-so-covertly camping in. As she had predicted, the earlier sandstorm had died down, allowing her to see for miles. In those miles, however, was nothing but sand and jagged stones, all colored an awkward purple by the dying sunlight. There was a chill in the air, making the woman pull her cloak a little tighter as she stepped outside the military-grade shelter.  
“The place is more dead than a sea bass in an igloo.” She mumbled, more as a reminder than an observation. Something about this place didn’t set right with her. This big, empty place just didn’t feel at all empty. There was no life indigenous to the rocky desert, but the woman couldn’t admit that she felt alone. Coming back to reality, she reached into the tent, grabbing a small satchel near the flap before moving over to a relatively flat rock nearby. Brushing a few silver locks from her face, the woman removed a small, brown paper-wrapped package from the satchel and placed the satchel behind her on the rock. Focusing on the package, the woman began to fold the paper back. Inside was what appeared to be a flat, square piece of bread, of which the cloaked woman did not hesitate to take a bite. Suddenly, there was a whooshing sound and a small push at her back. She immediately stood and ran, knowing she was under fire. Diving behind a particularly large rock, she heard a second projectile hit the sand behind her. Whoever firing was good, but had slipped up on a very important shot. That, she thought, was the would-be assassin’s first mistake. She chanced a peek around the other side of the rock, seeing not an arrow aimed at her face, but a feminine figure sneaking around the rock under her bag, looking for something. The silver-headed woman quickly grabbed the arrow in the sand behind her and stepped quietly out of the shadows in time to see the figure seat herself on the sand next to the rock. The owner of the satchel on said rock moved closer and closer to her assailant until she was close enough, then grabbed the figure, that of a young girl, restraining her arms. The young girl screamed loudly, but only on instinct. Both of them knew that would do no good out here. The older of the two saw no reason to drag her captive to the tent, so she simply moved the struggling to the ground, pinning her there by the waist and elbows. The girl gave up her struggle when she found her captor’s hold too strong.  
“What are you after? Petty food thieves don’t usually open with an attempted deathblow in the middle of nowhere.” The silver-haired woman demanded darkly.  
“Please forgive me, great huntress!” The dark-haired girl responded, a panicked sweat forming on her tanned face. “A great, threatening man offered me great things for your life!”  
“Things?”  
“An identity, he said! ‘Bring back the blood of the huntress with the silver mane, and I shall present you as her surviving apprentice,’ was what he told me!” The girl explained hurriedly.  
“Why did you believe him? I know there’s a better way to earn that title.”  
“I’ve wanted to be a huntress ever since I was little, but no one would accept me because of my family’s reputation. They don’t want the burden of a major crime lord’s granddaughter.”  
“Really?” The girl nodded. She wasn’t more than nineteen. “Well, let’s see: You go back to this threatening man, and he kills you for having failed, or you could throw away all this crime business and work for your apprentice title.” With that, the woman released her grip on the girl and stood up, moving to her bag. The girl sat up, her expression extremely relieved.  
“Thank you, great huntress! I am called Lita Ferran.”  
“Okay, Lita. Here’s your first lesson: Cut the ‘great huntress’ stuff.” The huntress grabbed hold of the arrow in her bag and quickly yanked it out, smirking. “My name is Kendra Soma.”


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, the pair was up bright and early, packing up camp. Kendra had planned on getting things packed up before the sun got too high. The area would get hot quickly, and they still had a ways to go. Lita had just gathered the tent’s support rods, and Kendra was rolling the canvas. The younger of the two looked for a moment at the bag that held the rods, and then slung it over her shoulder opposite her quiver. The bag was heavy, causing her to sway a bit, but she regained her balance quickly. Kendra looked up at her, but only for a second.  
“Need some help with those?” She asked, tying some rope around the rolled canvas.  
“Nope! I’ve got it!”  
“That’s the heaviest bag I carry. Well, besides the tools, of course.”  
“Then it’ll be good weight training.” Lita said, flashing a grin.  
“That’s the spirit!” Kendra finished the last knot, then stood and threw the bundle over her shoulder. “Ready to go?”  
“You bet!”  
“Then let’s make tracks.” Kendra said, doing just that. Lita started running a bit to catch up, the slowed when she reached her teacher. “Don’t run too much. Endurance is the name of the game out here.” The huntress advised, “If you’re not careful, the sun will drain your stamina quickly.”  
“That’s why most people travel at night, right?”  
“The ones that do, yeah. We’re going by day so we don’t get noticed.”  
“That makes sense.” Lita looked up at the large rocks dotting the landscape. In the rising sun, they appeared bright red flecked with black. They looked like great monuments, containing the cold remains of night in their shadows. “These boulders look unnatural in this light.” Kendra raised a dark eyebrow.  
“These haven’t been natural in ages. Every one of these were once the skeletons of buildings.”  
“You’re kidding!” Lita jokingly accused.  
“I’m afraid not, kiddo. There were no cities in the Highlands; they were all down here. The Highlands were jagged, pointed formations called mountains, and people lived in the forest around them and the plains that turned into this.” She motioned.  
“What happened to them?” Lita was watching Kendra intently, but still walking along.  
“All the records were vague, but from what I gather, the sky turned all types of red, leveling the mountains, burning buildings and forests, and throwing the seas into the land.” The huntress explained undramatically.  
“That sounds horrible! Did many people die?”  
“I’d imagine many lives were lost in the whole ordeal, but those that were left rebuilt the world with what they had, adapting to the new landscape as quickly as they could. And watch where you’re walking.” Lita quickly looked ahead, hopping over a piece of rock she nearly tripped over.  
“That was close. Anyways, how do you know all of this?”  
“I hit the books a bit when I was younger. Not many people do that nowadays.”  
“Just the mayors and city historians. No one else really needs to know.” Kendra sighed at that remark.  
“Not for their jobs. See, it’s all about specialization now. I prefer to leave all that rigidness behind. That’s why I’m a huntress.”  
“A darn good one, too.”  
“You got that right!” Both women laughed as they continued their way across the desert wasteland.  
Around midday, a large formation quickly grew on the horizon, towering into the sky. Built into the front of the formation was a large stone-and-metal arch, lined with an intricate carving of a grapevine. Lita squinted in the sun, exhaustion starting to show in her posture. Kendra had earlier swapped the bag of support rods for the lightweight canvas so the girl wouldn’t collapse from their weight.  
“The trade gates of New Azalea. Kendra, this is my home!” Lita cried and, despite her lack of stamina, broke into a run.  
“Lita, wait!” Kendra called after her, speeding to a run herself. Reaching the base of the arch, Lita skidded to a stop, followed by Kendra. The dark-haired girl looked around for signs of life. Catching someone in the shadows, she straightened up.  
“Roberto!” She called loudly, startling the coverall-clad man in the shadows. He looked for a second, and then stepped closer, out of the shadows. As he approached, Lita ran to him. “Roberto, it’s me! I’m back!”  
“Lita? It is you!” He suddenly grabbed her and pulled her into a quick, friendly hug. He then started back for the shadows, calling to someone.  
“’Ey boys! Guess who’s here!” Lita’s excited expression changed quickly in reaction to the hoots and hollers she heard from inside the gate.  
“Was everyone worried about me?” The girl looked to Kendra, who simply shrugged, then back to the group of men, young and old, wearing similar coveralls. All of them looked either excited or relieved at the sight of the girl. “I had no idea I worried everyone. I’m so sorry.” She announced when the group reached her, causing them to erupt into a sea of protest. Roberto moved to the group.  
“Hey, hey, hey! Settle down, now! Lita’s back, I say we have a big party in town to celebrate!” That turned the men’s protests into cheers.  
“Awesome idea, bro! Wait here a sec.” Lita quickly ran over to Kendra, who had separated herself from the little reunion, and grabbed her hand. “Come on!” She then proceeded to pull the huntress towards the group.  
“Who’s this, then?”  
“This is Kendra Soma. She’s a huntress!”  
“You can say that again!” one of the workers called.  
So, you finally hooked one, eh? Good for you!” Roberto placed his hand on Lita’s shoulder.  
“Yeah, it’s…great…” Lita suddenly stumbled into Kendra. Roberto moved to take her arm, but Lita stopped him, standing up on her own.  
“Heat exhaustion.” Kendra stated flatly, holding on to Lita’s arm. “She’ll be fine as long as she gets inside and rests _now_.”


End file.
